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Numbers dwindle at worrisome Rainbow camp

Erin Udell
12:58 a.m. MDT July 22, 2014

Erick Diersen, with his back to camera, an employee with Bettle Busters in Red Feather Lakes Village, approaches a man who backed his car into a truck in the village on Friday.
(Photo:
V. Richard Haro/The Coloradoan
)

The Rainbow Family seems to be shipping out of the Red Feather Lakes area after law enforcement stepped up its presence over the weekend.

Participation at the gathering, which was originally anticipated to reach into the thousands, is down from last week — going from about 100 people at its height to less than 50 now, Nick Christensen of the Larimer County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

The loosely organized group, which preaches nonviolence and equality, hosted its annual gathering earlier this month in Utah but had recently formed a small spinoff gathering northwest of Fort Collins and outside Red Feather Lakes, a small mountain village surrounded by Roosevelt National Forest.

The sheriff's office began several "special enforcement operations" over the weekend, starting Friday morning when deputies visited the camp and told participants that law enforcement agencies would be strictly enforcing all laws.

This came after a stabbing incident late Tuesday that sent three members of the Rainbow Family to area hospitals and resulted in the arrests of Norman Wheatley, 37, and Lorenzo Otranto, 26.

According to the sheriff's office, one verbal warning was issued at the camp Friday afternoon, but no criminal violations were observed. Christensen said he believed the verbal warning was given by someone with the U.S. Forest Service for a forest-related violation.

Outside of the camp, Christensen said the sheriff's office also increased its presence on the roadways in the area. On Saturday, three warrant arrests were made, stemming from two separate traffic stops near the camp.

Cody Tidwell, 34, was arrested on a felony warrant for forgery out of Douglas County, and Jaimie Drake, 31, was arrested on a felony probation violation out of Camden, Missouri. Teresa Montano, 39, was also arrested for failure to appear on a misdemeanor theft charge out of Longmont.

Since the Rainbow Family started gathering in the area, Jerry Schiager, patrol deputy chief for Fort Collins Police Services, said he'd seen some members of the group trickling down into Fort Collins.

Over the weekend, Schiager said Fort Collins officers ran into some people from the Rainbow Family camping in a parking lot on the north end of town. He also said officers have written tickets for some members — mainly for camping, panhandling or having open containers of alcohol.

"What we've heard from other places is that folks will come in, hit a grocery store, do a mass shoplifting deal," Schiager said. "We haven't seen that here, but it's a concern."

"I think it's also a concern that folks take advantage of our local services and local folks," he added, saying that some members of the group may use food banks and take resources away from the city's homeless population.

"It does send ripples through our community," Schiager said.

Patti McMillan, owner of Red Feather Trading Post in Red Feather Lakes, said Monday that she's noticed the increased presence of law enforcement in the area.

As for people from the Rainbow Family gathering, McMillan said their numbers have gone down since early last week.

"This weekend, we might have seen one or two, almost like they were heading out," McMillan said. "If they're still here, they're maintaining a low profile."